Toska
(Russian): "No single word in
English renders all the shades of toska. At its deepest and most painful, it is
a sensation of great spiritual anguish, often without any specific cause. At
less morbid levels it is a dull ache of the soul, a longing with nothing to
long for, a sick pining, a vague restlessness, mental throes, yearning. In
particular cases it may be the desire for somebody of something specific,
nostalgia, love-sickness. At the lowest level it grades into ennui, boredom.” -
Vladimir Nabokov
(Jim Goldberg)
Mamihlapinatapei (Yagan, an indigenous
language of Tierra del Fuego): “The wordless, yet meaningful look shared by two
people who both desire to initiate something but are too reluctant to start.”
Cafuné (Brazilian Portuguese): “The
act of tenderly running one’s fingers through someone’s hair.”
(Hedi Slimane)
Hyggelig (Danish): “Cozy, welcoming,
and enticing.”
Duende (Spanish): “The mysterious power that a
work of art has to deeply move a person.”
Saudade (Portuguese): “The feeling of longing for
something or someone that you love and which is lost.”
Waldeinsamkeit
(German): “The feeling of being alone in the woods.”
(Charles Burchfield, The First Hepaticas)
My favorite <3
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